Yarn Along

Still on the needles is the Milo but as you see it's almost finished:

Not a great photo colour wise as the garment is actually a dark pink!  Still you get the gist of what is going on!

Not much reading going on in these quarters, Pip still recovering from the chicken pox and I'm pondering a home school report that, needs writing and handing in by the end of next week!  I have it all in my head just need to have a consolidated space of time in which to write!

I'm hoping to receive a parcel of books quite soon, a much needed treat for me and hopefully they'll have air time in next weeks Yarn along.

If you want to join Ginny and others then visit here:


Yarn Along

Sickness to Recovery

Plenty of quiet at home and here in Cyber space as Pip's immunity has coped with the chicken pox virus.  I initially thought she was going to have a mild attack but the spots spread over a period of three days and as a result she's had a healthy dose of the stuff!  Friday and Saturday were the worst days but a combination of soda bicarb bathing, Sudocreme cream and homeopathic Pulsatilla saw us through the worst bits.  By Sunday she was managing to smile and as for today she's charged around the garden and been a mischievous Sprite!  Here are some photos of the past few days:

Knitting with mummy as a distraction from the discomfort.

Partaking in rainy day fresh air at Aunty Maureen and Uncle Bryan's house.

Trying to take a picture of Mummy using her mobile phone!

Daily morning nap times.

Red currant eating and den building with Benedict.

Making a sparkly fairy wand.

Benedict sewing a spoon puppet with a modicum of help from Mum.

I have just over a week to submit our home education report for this year; once I get five minutes peace and tackle the task in hand I know I'll be fine.  By biggest concern right now is the way forward for this forthcoming year.  I know I mentioned a week or so ago about following a Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum but I'm already having my doubts, not about my ability to deliver the material but whether it will sustain Benedict's interest.  I'm slowly beginning to realise that, following Benedict's interests autonomously is likely to be our only way forward at this stage.  I've seen autonomous education in action I just need to trust that, in reality it will work for us!

Yarn Along, Eureka and a Knitting Tale of Woe

Joining Ginny  again for this weeks yarn along:

The work in progress is a milo vest courtesy of Georgie Hallam via Ravelry.  The book is on its second reading and is " Beginning To Pray" by Anthony Bloom, Orthodox Archbishop. Amongst other things, it challenges the reader to take "crumbs of wasted time" and turn them into Kingdom moments.  Quite an encouragement for a very worn out mamma, caring for equally worn out and chronically sick family members. 

The bear is my knitting tale of woe... remember the hand dyed, raspberry ripple first ever Boheme I made Pip, well unfortunately this beautiful 100% wool garment was washed by accident on a non wool wash and as you can see it now fits teddy!  Sob!

So far it has been an interesting week... the car is in the body shop for repair again, some guy did not manage to mirror, signal and manoeuvre and reversed into our car! I've wrecked Pip's woolly cardi and I think she's in the early stages of chicken pox.  Benedict's cognitive functioning is way down as a result of multiple hypo's and lack of sleep has worsened MS fatigue and the associated poor balance. I also have not escaped walking wounded syndrome and as a result of another back injury last week am still bearing the multiple bruises of "cupping" performed by my lovely acupuncturist last Thursday.  I have a follow up session tomorrow!

Still we did manage to have fun yesterday and visited this place Eureka.  We pushed buttons, pulled levers, made music, cut and glued, climbed and danced.  The museum houses activities for babies, tiny tots and primary aged children and despite there being several schools in attendance we were not falling over one another.  Benedict and Sara worked their way through the " Me and My Body" exhibits, whilst Dave, Pip and I looked at "The Global Garden" and "Desert Discovery" areas, both aimed at her age range.  After a mid afternoon snack we all made our way to the, " Sound Space" which was enjoyed by all.  Our ticket entry qualified us for a year's pass and since the museum is only 70 miles from our home we'll definitely be visiting again.  

Sara and I setting out the picnic, I'm pleased to report we did not spend any money in the cafe!  The car was full of lunch food and snack foods.

 Lovely Daddy and Pip sharing sandwiches.

 Sara made these as a very special treat and ...

 ... here is Pip enjoying " choc chorbees!"

 Pip and I testing my stride, which is not very big!

 The digestive tract.

 Inside the skull.

 Pip just loved the baby zone!

 A coffee and snack stop before the return journey home.

A great time was had by all.

Pip's phrase for the day.

"Pick the chorbees mummy!"

"Chorbees" are the strawberries, never mind that were redcurrants!  On tap vitamin C great for coping with a second round of snuffles!

Yarn Along

I've finally got my act together and I am joining Ginny in a sharing of knitting and reading.

Not the best picture I know but it's late, Pip's only just settled and Benedict is still wandering around the house; he's also managed to disconnect his cannula. This means a new set change for the pump and we'll be checking him at half past midnight to ensure that the system is working and that he's getting insulin.  Never a dull moment at chez nous!

The project on the needles is another Boheme in hand dyed orange with a hint of cream.  The wool is Ethical Twist 30/70 and is a dream to knit with. This is my third Boheme and  hopefully this item will be passed on to a blogging mum who has just had her fourth babe.

The book is "Ten ways to destroy the imagination of your child" by Anthony Esolen.  Dave and I watched him on EWTN Bookmark and we were impressed by his approach and so ordered the book on the back of the interview.  Dave has already made a head start but if I actually manage to finish the ironing before midnight, I might just manage a page or two before checking on Benedict.

I noticed Ginny is reading "Simplicity Parenting", I actually have that book on the kindle app on my phone, it is a worthy and encouraging read.  We haven't however managed to ditch the TV, right now that box in the corner of the room is the occasional sanity saver when all else is totally pear shaped!  Today was a totally pants day both in home school and diabetes management, if I could have retired to bed for the duration I would have gladly done so.  Here's hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

Today we...

... played addition match,

counted in two's, five's and ten's (yep, it's ongoing, zzz),

read aloud from "George's Marvellous Medicine" by Roald Dahl  but after chapter three decided the subject matter was too gross and switched to " Five in a Fix" by Enid Blyton, five chapters read in one mammoth reading session!

made our half yearly trip to the dentist and came away with a hefty medical bill, disclosing tablets and mouth wash.

had a quick trip to the seaside whilst remaining family members were having their teeth checked.

made courgette and onion frittata for lunch and yummy drop scones as an after tea treat.

made a trip back in time and visited a 1940's house, looked at the changes in domestic appliances from then to present day and undertook a quick fire interactive quiz based on the same.

played in the garden and got very dirty and jumped and skipped like mad with other school friends at the after school skipping club.

made banana bread late in the evening in an attempt to "waste not want not" and as I write the smell is wafting through the house.

appreciated the sunshine and outside eating for breakfast, lunch and tea.

All things considered a good day.

Birthday Fun and Other Things

I am late posting Birthday pictures as tiredness caught up with me yesterday!  Here is a selection from the big day:

Opening cards.

 Blue stars, stripes and spots reversible Birthday bunting made by mum, that and the cake making and decorating meant I climbed into bed at silly o'clock on Saturday morning!  Still his appreciation for the decoration was well worth the effort.

Present from Mum and Dad, two Usborne books:  The Roman Soldiers Handbook and Look Inside A Roman Town.

Best friend O at the indoor climbing area...

... and equally good friend L on the super duper slide.

 Birthday boy taking a break on the climbing mesh.

 The birthday cake... not one of my best as it sunk slightly and I had difficulties working with the gluten free flour, it did however taste good and was appreciated by all!

Sunday was Pentecost but we completely lost the plot church-wise; this was due to a combination of mitigating factors.  Dave did however do an excellent job of explaining the importance of the feast and Benedict for his part drew a lovely picture of the Apostles and Our Lady with tongues of fire above their heads.

Today we managed to complete a varied and productive amount of learning.  I've been thinking about our learning for the forthcoming year and have tentatively settled on a Charlotte Mason based curriculum.  The Oak Meadow curriculum although well written did little to hold Benedict's interest and in the end it became a battle of wills (both his and mine!) in attempting to finish the tasks at hand.  With CM in mind we worked on learning the first part of Psalm 23 as our scripture memory, this was then followed by our catechesis on The Mass.  During our snack time we worked on a dot - to - dot puzzle of Noah and The Ark. 

After snack we used the internet resource on WW2, this was a huge success as B loves anything interactive! This was followed by number work on the war time favourite "The Beetle Game", we also watched the DVD recording of The 1940's House originally aired on Channel 4 in 2000 (AD).

Our copywork was based around one of Christina Rossetti's poems : Who has seen the wind?  Her writings will be our poetry focus for the next few weeks.  After lunch Dad and Sara took B and P to The Maritime Museum, as always it is a useful and free local resource!  They were lucky enough to take part in a knot tying demonstration.  Whilst they were out I managed to undertake some essential household jobs and plan our activities for tomorrow.  I'm working towards an end of year home education report for the LEA, nothing like a looming deadline to focus one's attention!!

 Pip wearing a rope tied bracelet. This was given to her by the kind man doing the demonstrations, Eric, who told us the knot was called a Portuguese Sinnet.  It is two sided, so a sailor handing this to his true love met with the reply "but I don't like white" would respond by turning it inside out to reveal the silver alternative face!

 Model of one of our local gas rigs.

No trip to the museum would be complete without a ride on the model narrow boat!

Big sis and little sis.

Making a pirate flag.

 The return journey home, a view across to the Maritime Museum.

Happy 8th Birthday Sweet Miracle...

 ...of Life

Oh, sweet miracle
Love's sweet miracle
Oh, sweet miracle
Of life

Born 4.30pm

  Our little lad less than an hour old

  

 Our midwife standing at his birthplace

  

On the way to the baptism party

Baptism cake

Most of our family at that time

(sadly Kate couldn't make it)

Visiting dear Uncle Peter, fisherman, Spitfire pilot, nuclear chemist and jolly nice chap!

Experiencing the garden during his 1st birthday party

Enjoying alfresco food for 2nd birthday party

Enjoying a bit of snow in the garden when 2 1/2 years old

Having fun with his 3 big sisters a fortnight before his 3rd birthday

Help in the kitchen a month before he is 4

On the Somerset coast with Uncle Andrew and Mum, 4th summer

  A ride on the see-saw age 5 1/2 with Mum, one week before the new baby was due to arrive!

Aged 5 1/2 and proud as punch with his new sister Philippa Josephine, just 4 days old

 

Fun with big sister (Sr) Emma and Sr Kristen, arriving for Philippa's (also known as Pip) baptism

Two days after his 7th birthday, having a cuddle with Pip at Nanna and Grandad H's

Oh, and once again, that rather talented threesome from Toronto have come up with a rather nice song, not all the lyrics are relevant but the chorus is perfect for children everywhere: Sweet Miracle

Imperial War Museum North

We visited here http://north.iwm.org.uk/

We went with no agenda as such and certainly no printouts or worksheets; a chance to look, listen and learn as we meandered around.  I don't have many good quality photographs as I was reluctant to be seen snapping since the museum did not encourage the taking of photographs.  Having said this towards the end of our visit folks were openly snapping shots of the exhibits! 

Naturally it goes without saying that, although the museum was "free" the money was made in the cafe and obligatory museum shop, strategically placed in front of the entry/exit!  We had brought a picnic to eat in the "green room" but that was booked for a party of school kids, so we compromised and bought soup and drinks to have with our packed lunch, which was surreptitiously hidden under the table!!  Despite the extra hidden costs in the cafe and shop it was an interesting and informative day out, a preferable option to the house four walls for sure!